Dark and Forgotten Flower
by maewen.leanne
Summary: not as much Buffy as my character, but it is a BtVS.What happens when a new vamp shows up from Spike's past and brings her problems to the Scoobies for help. Spuffy and Ozmy character
1. Prologue

Dark and Forgotten Flower

Prologue

_Paris, France 1719_

It was late that night as the seemingly young couple walked down the lonely streets of Paris, half-hidden in the faint light of the moon. The man was tall, with striking blue eyes, and white-blonde hair that hung slightly long, nearly down to his ears. The woman was thin with long, dark, curly hair and dark eyes—eyes that portrayed the insanity she had been driven to some years ago.

"Pet, why are we out here now? It's not as if any sane Parisian would be out at this time of night any more." The woman stopped and looked at her companion smiling mischievously.

"But Spike, the pixies in my head told me the Slayer would be here tonight." The blonde vampire grinned evilly as he pulled the woman into him.

""Really Dru, you should have told me earlier, I might have dressed up some. I mean, we'll be seeing very important company. Don't you think we should look a bit more…powerful?" The woman laughed quietly for a moment, then froze and pointed to a small shop across the road, where a young girl of nearly eighteen was coming out, her dark hair loose and curly over here shoulders.

"There she is, the pretty little French flower, so young and innocent." Drusilla grinned, then leaned back and forth as she spoke. "I was like that once, and the pixies would dance for me all day." She giggled. "Are you going to kill her, my Spike? Going to make the pretty flower scream in pain for Princess?" Spike smiled.

"I might not, love. Think about it. No other vampire has turned a Slayer before… Imagine how powerful we'd be with her. We could keep her around, make her bad like us…" Drusilla laughed.

"Oh, Spike wants the pretty flower, wants a new toy to play with. Poor girl, the pixies won't dance for her now. No more sunshine for the flower. Little flower is going to wilt, be dark and withered." The pair smiled and Spike shrugged his shoulders.

"Stay here, pet, while I go get you a granddaughter."


	2. Chapter 1: Fleur

Chapter 1

_Sunnydale, California 2000_

"So, Buffy, why are we going shopping at night again? No offense, but I have to admit that this is one of your more insane sisterly get-togethers." Dawn frowned and bit her lip as she thought. "I would say it was your most insane, but there was that time we went to New York for Christmas with dad, and you took me swimming. We nearly got hypothermia and mom—,"

"Alright, alright, so I don't always have the best ideas," Buffy interrupted, mock glaring at her younger sister and cutting her off quickly before she finished the story. "But, forgive me for being blonde, why is going out for a night of shopping a bad thing?" Dawn sighed exasperatedly and shook her head.

"Earth to Buffy, in case you didn't notice, this is Sunnydale, and it's located right over a Hellmouth. Going out at night is pretty much the same as walking around with a neon sign over your head that says 'Vampires, free meal here!'"

"Oh, right," Buffy muttered sheepishly.

"And here I thought you were the Slayer," Dawn teased, flipping her hair. Buffy grinned, and began to tickle her sister ceaselessly, causing Dawn to burst out laughing as she tried to get her to stop.

"Umm, excuse me," an accented woman's voice interrupted them. The two girls sprang apart as if on fire and turned to the girl, breathing heavily. "Sorry, but did I hear you say something about vampires?" The two sisters glanced at each other quickly, and then looked back at the young girl. She was relatively tall, somewhere between sixteen and twenty, with long dark brown hair that was sort of curly, and hazel eyes.

"Vampires?" Buffy asked innocently. "Why would we talk about vampires? We were talking about empires, weren't we Dawn?" The younger girl nodded enthusiastically, but the other girl looked unconvinced.

"Empires, huh? Well, that's great that they can all eat free meals here then, isn't it Slayer?" She smirked at the sisters' shocked faces. "Relax, I just figured you two could help me find my friend. He's about this tall," she said, holding her hand a few inches above her head, "with blue eyes, really blonde hair, tends to have a really bad attitude, likes to wear this really dumb black duster?" She looked at them hopefully and Dawn frowned, thinking.

"Sounds like Spike," she said, looking at Buffy carefully. The other girl looked at them curiously. "Spike is a…friend of ours," Dawn explained. "You almost described him exactly."

"Really? Are there a lot of people around her like that?" She looked crestfallen. Buffy shook her head.

"Not really. So, umm…?" Buffy looked at her questioningly.

"Oh! How rude can I get! Sorry, the name's Fleur." The sisters nodded and introduced themselves before going on.

"So, Fleur, is this guy…He your boyfriend or something?" The French girl grimaced in disgust.

"Pardon?" She babbled in French for a second before shaking her head slightly, still frowning. "Sorry, umm, no. He's not my boyfriend. He's more my…father, in a manner of speaking." She froze and bit her lip, then shrugged. "Actually, now that I think of it, I remember where he is now. Thanks for your help, Buffy, Dawn. I'll look you guys up while I'm in town." She quickly waved and ran off, disappearing into the shadows. Buffy frowned.

"Huh, it may just be me, but something about her just doesn't feel right. I mean, she practically described that worthless creep of a vampire." She shuddered.

"Hope you weren't meaning me, Slayer?" Buffy groaned and rolled her eyes, not bothering to be nice.

"Spike, just the vamp I was wishing to stake." Dawn shook her head at her sister's antics. Those tow just didn't get along. Although, it could be that one was a vampire, and the other was the vampire slayer. "There was a girl here a second ago. She pretty much described you minus the fangs, said she was looking for a friend of hers, practically her dad," the blonde stated, eyeing him.

"What'd the bird look like?" he asked, lighting a cigarette. Dawn grinned.

"Well, she's a bit taller then me, around Buffy's height, with curly brown hair, really long and dark, hazel eyes, and is standing right behind you." Spike turned around quickly and stared in shock at the sight in front of him.

"It can't be…" he whispered. Fleur grinned.

"Hello William. Or, would you rather me call you daddy?"


	3. Chapter 2: Daddy, Anger, and Problems

Chapter 2

Spike frowned. "I thought we agreed that we didn't announce that to the world, pet," he ground out between his teeth, glaring at her. Her face hardened at the nickname, and before anyone could react, her fist had snaked out and collided with his jaw.

"We did, along with that nickname. You know I'm not your pet, William. I belong to no one, whether they sired me or not." Buffy and Dawn gasped.

"You're a vampire?" Dawn asked, eyes wide. Fleur nodded slowly.

"It's a twisted story. Pops and Granna, Spike and Drusilla to you, were out walking one night, saw me, decided to turn me, but didn't know the catch." Buffy frowned.

"Catch? What catch? I didn't know there was a catch with turning vamps." Spike groaned loudly, reminding the three girls to his presence.

"Can we continue this wonderful conversation somewhere else, maybe at your house, Slayer?" Buffy nodded, and they all walked back to the house. When they got there, Buffy invited everyone in, Spike quickly walked over to a couch, sat down, and lit up his fifth cigarette since Fleur showed up. "You might as well call the rest of the Scoobies. Blokes'll probably find out anyway," he told her. Buffy looked pointedly at the cigarette as Fleur rolled her eyes, walked over to Spike took his cigarette, put it out, and threw it away. He just glowered at her, but waited until she was distracted by the arrival of the rest of the gang. Willow and her girlfriend Tara, Oz, who was being very much the loner, Giles, and of course Xander and Anya. Fleur looked around nervously, caught Spike smoking again, marched over, snatched it from his fingers, and smothered it in her hand. Xander winced at the smoke curling up from her palm.

"Doesn't that hurt?" he asked, looking at her. She shook her head.

"Vampire," Fleur said shortly, shrugging. They all nodded, but Spike looked livid.

"That was my last one!" he said indignantly. Fleur shrugged.

"It's bad for your health." He opened his mouth to retort, but she held up her hand. "Save it, pops, I've heard it for over a hundred years. I don't care if you are eternal and it won't kill you. I know that. But they aren't, so you won't smoke in here. Plus, it smells nasty," she said, wrinkling her nose in distaste.

"You're a hundred years old?" Anya asked. The French girl shook her head.

"Not really. I'm two hundred and ninety eight, but I was with those two for about a hundred," she explained. Willow raised her eyebrows appreciatively.

"You were with Spike, the Punk Prince of the Undead, and Drusilla, his insane dark goddess, for a hundred years? How'd you stand it!" Spike rolled his eyes.

"We weren't that bad. I made sure her rooms were on opposite sides of the house from ours, and Angel didn't hardly disturb her. Didn't like her much." Fleur growled menacingly, and slowly vamped out. Honestly, there wasn't much change. Her forehead wrinkled a little, her teeth elongated, and her eyes went yellow, but that was about it. If you barely glanced at her, you would have thought she was thinking really hard.

"I thought we had agreed that that was one name you conveniently forgot when I was around, daddy," she hissed, stepping up to him. "He is not one of my favorite vampiric relatives, and you know it. No matter how far away my rooms were, you could still hear my screams, we both know it. You just enjoyed the combination of that, plus Drusilla, you sadistic—,"

"Hey, calm down, Fleur," Buffy said, quickly stepping in between the two vampires. "He didn't mean anything by it." Fleur scowled, but backed off and de-vamped after a moment.

"Sorry, guys, but he and I both know what would happen when Darla was…preoccupied, or he was in a bad mood. Because of what I am, he would take everything out on me, blame me for his mess ups. If we had both been human, I would have been pregnant enough times to fill this room." She grimaced. "When he got his soul, Darla blamed it on me. Bit later, she left to go ask them to take it back. She never returned, and not long after, Pops here got drunk because Granny got sickly, came to me, and we had a long torture session which ended with me knocking him out, packing my few bags, and leaving. I've been moving around for the past eighty years or so, and decided to check up on dear old daddy while I was around, maybe offer to help you guys." Oz looked at her.

"You have a soul?" he asked quietly. Everyone looked at him surprised since he hadn't really spoken since they arrived at the house. Fleur bit her lip.

"That's what I wanted to explain. You see, when I was eighteen, I lived in Paris, worked for a man by the name of Pierre DuPont." She glanced at Giles, who's face lit up with shock and understanding. "He was my watcher until Spike here got me. I was on my way out for a walk when Spike came up, and pulled me into an alley nearby. We fought until two in the morning, Drusilla watching the whole time. Finally, he broke both my arm and my legs, and vamped me. He wanted to turn me evil, make me his new play toy. Problem was, when you turn a Slayer, she doesn't lose her soul. She stays like she was, and her changes are very few. She's mostly the same as she was when she was alive. But, there are three things that become different." She looked at the older man, her eyebrows raised. He sighed.

"There was a case back around fifty years before Fleur. One girl by the name of Susan was out patrolling when the Master caught her. Instead of just killing her, he turned her into a vampire. He ran into problems then. She never lost her soul, and remained good, but now hated both vampires and the council—the vampires for doing that to her, and the council for letting it happen. She lived for sometime, and was extremely strong and hard to kill. She kept her slayer powers, but those were multiplied by the vampire strength. Along with that, a mere stake in the heart couldn't kill her. The only thing that could was a stake, bathed in Holy Water, set on fire, and plunged deep into her heart. She finally couldn't take it anymore, and committed suicide." Fleur nodded.

"Yeah, but not many people knew what else would happen to her." She looked at Oz, her eyes tired and sad. "Just like werewolves turn demony on the nights on and around the full moon, she would become a full demon the three nights of the new moon." Fleur bit her lip and looked at the floor as everyone stared at her in shock. "That's why I needed to find Spike. Tomorrow night is the first night." Buffy looked at her, and felt as if she had been stabbed when she saw the tears streaming down the vampire's face as she silently cried. Surprising herself and everyone in the room, she stood up and walked over to Fleur, wrapped her arms around her, and let the girl cry on her shoulder.


	4. Chapter 3: Werewolf and Vampire

Ch3

Fleur sniffled and pulled back after awhile. She gave Buffy a watery smile and shook her dark hair away from her face. "Thanks. Sometimes, I just really feel like breaking down like that…or screaming and going after my sire with a fiery stake and chopping his head off while drowning him in Holy Water…but that could just be my vampire part of me." Buffy laughed and nodded her head.

"Don't worry about it. I want to kill Spike nearly every day." Spike looked affronted, and grumbled, but the others in the room ignored him. "Do you need someone to stay with you the next couple nights while you're out of it? And we have a place near the campus where Oz stays when it's time, so you can wait there…?" Fleur shook her head.

"The place sounds perfect, don't get me wrong, but you have a job to do, Buffy. And I am not putting anyone in danger that doesn't need to be. Spike I will allow. Maybe a werewolf that you trust and I can talk to until I change… But no, not you, or Xander, or anyone else. I barely trust myself when I'm like this sometimes, so I definitely do not trust the full demon part of me. I have no control then. That's the only time I feel like a real vampire, no soul, no conscience…just me, the demon, and my food." Buffy grinned and cast a sly look and the red-headed guitar player that had been listening attentively in his own, silent way.

"I know just the guy. Fleur, meet Oz, our werewolf in residence. Oz, you know all about this, so, while I go patrol, why don't you take her to go see the pit?" Oz nodded and motioned Fleur to the door. She stood up and smiled at him before slipping out into the darkness.

"So, you're who Buffy was talking about when she said someone stayed in the…pit?" Oz nodded and looked at her.

"Yeah. My cousin bit me a couple years back, and the gang just sort of took me in one night when a werewolf hunter came to town. They pretty much saved me from being a rug." Fleur stared at him. "Yeah, I know. Rug."

"No, actually I was referring to the vampire standing behind you." Oz turned and quickly ducked as the vamp took a swing at him. While he was still mid-swing, Fleur pulled out a slim stake from her coat pocket and stabbed him, sending dust all over the place. "Sorry about that. Vamps just aren't very clean losers." He gave her a weird look.

"You're a vampire." She nodded.

"Yep, but I'm special. Slayer vampire, remember. I just die again, and then disappear. No dust, no cleaning crew, just nice clean, although complicated, kill."

They walked along in silence for the rest of the way until they got to the pit. The building looked sort of like an abandoned bomb shelter, only a bit nicer, and with a part of it caged off.

"Strong enough to hold a werewolf," he told her. "Giles has the keys to the locks."

"Locks? You mean plural?" He motioned to the five or six locks laying in a neat pile by the door. "Very nice. It looks strong enough to hold demon me. But, we'll just have to see. William can get the tranquilizers that we'll need in case it doesn't work or I start to hurt myself. When I get locked up, I get a bit suicidal, and it's not very pretty." Oz shook his head.

"Want me to stay?" Fleur shrugged.

"If you want to. Spike knows how to handle me, but I have to be locked up before sunset, and I get pretty bored most times." He nodded.

"I can bring my guitar if you want. I'll play some of the stuff that we're working on right now. The band I play with normally has a gig at the Bronze on Friday nights…that's the night after your last demon spaz."

"Sounds fun. Tomorrow you'll have to show me around town." He stared at her, his deep, penetrating eyes questioning. "I don't get burned by daylight. Hence the tan." He grinned. "Yep, I get a pretty good package, excluding the need for blood at least once a day, and the whole new moon demon thing."

"Bet Spike feels a bit bad because of it," he said, but she just laughed, a light, tinkling sound.

"Spike? Feel bad? As in William the Bloody, my sire, feel anything other than anger, hate, or horniness, feel bad? Are we talking about the same person?" Oz just gave her a look, and she sighed, then sat down on the floor, leaning up against the wall. "He doesn't have a soul, Oz. He is barely capable of love. Sure, he cared for me, but he never once did anything about what Angelus did to me," she spat, glaring at a spot on the wall opposite. "He raped me, tortured me, did anything and everything bad you could imagine except kill me. And the whole time, Spike did nothing. He pretended it never happened. When Angelus was around, he'd pretend he didn't care at all and hit me…Then, he'd go out and get me things. Actually buy them because I refused to have things he stole. That is the closest to caring I have ever seen him. Until tonight."

"What do you mean?" Fleur gave him a sly smile.

"My daddy may not know it yet, but he has a soft spot for the current Slayer in Residence, and I am going to make him suffer because of it." Oz looked horrified. "Oh, not a bad suffering!" She reassured him. "The kind of suffering where you're in love, and you can't stand it anymore, so you break down and confess it to someone close to you, who then encourages you to pursue it, and accept it, until he can't take it anymore, and you tell the person. And the whole time, I'll be doing much the same to Buffy…just… nicer." Oz grinned as he realized what she was talking about in a way. He had been feeling much the same from the moment he arrived at the Summer's house.

"Count me in."


	5. Chapter 4: The Demon Within Me is Nixi

Ch4

The next evening, everyone assembled outside the door to the pit to make sure Fleur would be alright. "I'll be fine," she assured the gang, laughing lightly. "Oz will be with me until I change, and William will be here after the sun goes down, which is right about when I'll start to change." The gang looked at her for a second, trying to process it all, but something kept hindering some of them.

"By William," Xander asked, sidling over to her, "you mean Spike, don't you?" She nodded, and a look that was a mix of relief and worry crossed his face. "He won't hurt you, will he? I mean, it's not like he will let you out, right? He'll keep you locked up?" Fleur looked at Xander oddly.

"No, he won't let me out. I nearly tore him to pieces the first time, and that was when I was still weak…my second night of being a vampire was the night before the full moon. If he had let me, neither he, Drusilla, Darla or Angelus would be alive right now. He's not about to let that happen again." They all nodded quietly, seemingly satisfied.

"Well, just in case, I'm just over at the cemetery back there, and Oz has my cell number, along with everyone else's. If something goes wrong…" Buffy shrugged and smiled brightly. "Maybe I'll see Dru so I can stake her. That would be fun." Fleur agreed, and gave Buffy a hug before she left. Willow and Tara left next, assuring Fleur that their dorm was only a few minutes away, and telling them that they would be sure to have a protection spell put up over the pit, just in case something went wrong. Xander, Anya, Dawn, and Giles went a bit after, leaving Oz with the keys to the many locks.

"So, now you get to lock me up." Oz nodded. "Fun. Anyway, did you bring you guitar? I want to hear some of these songs." He shrugged, but seemed pleased.

"Everything is inside the pit already. The songs are mostly just my part, which is backup, but I wrote a few of them, so I know the lead part pretty well." Fleur smiled, and followed him inside quickly, making sure to shut the door so nobody wandered in while she was full demon. She sat down inside the cage and watched as Oz silently shut, bolted, chained and locked her in before grabbing his guitar and playing a couple of songs.

"That last one was nice," she told him honestly. "Did you write it?" He nodded sheepishly, his face a bit red. "I like it," she stated. "But at that part where you have the key change in there, instead of speeding it up, you might try slowing it some. The meaning will get across better, and so will the feeling behind it." He nodded and tried it as she had suggested, liking it straight away.

"I wouldn't figure you knew about music, guitar or otherwise," he told her. She shrugged and leaned back against the wall, her eyes closed.

"After I was turned, we stayed in France for awhile, then went to Russia, and a couple of other places. I was in a band in New York that played at a night club…it was fun. I mostly just hung around the theatres and clubs, listening to the music. A couple guys would ask me out, and I'd say yes, and we'd go to a Broadway show, which was really neat." She sighed happily. "But, I had to come here, to find Spike and warn him about a few things, not to mention hook him up with Buffy." Neither of them said anything for awhile, and they just sat there in comfortable silence until Oz started to strum his guitar, picking out little chords and tunes for the heck of it. Fleur soon grew restless, and began to pace around her enclosure, her long, filmy black dress swishing around her ankles.

"Yeesh, I forgot how long it gets, just waiting for the change. And then I'm a girl trapped in a demon's body, stuck like that until sunrise. Speaking of which," she turned to her friend, who was currently picking out a soft lullaby, trying to calm her nerves. "Tell Wil—Spike that about an hour before sunrise, he needs to take one of the smaller tranquilizers and knock me out. Then, throw a sheet over me. It gets drafty when I come back." He nodded slowly, surprised at how frank she was being with him. "Penny for your thoughts?" He smiled softly at her slight humor.

"Nothing much. Just wondering why you keep saying things like that, as if I'm not going to stay with you the whole time." She frowned, and looked at him oddly.

"Oz, I don't expect you to. You don't need to stay here with me, honest." He shook his head adamantly.

"Nope, I'm staying here. You need a friend, Fleur, and Spike doesn't count. He's more your father that anything. I'll be here the whole time, and I'll knock you out an hour before dawn, if you're sure." She nodded slowly.

"The tranquilizer will only last about an hour, and by then, the sun will be up. I'm fine once it rises, but just in case, I had them make it last an hour and a half. I'll be out for the whole time, and the sun will be up more." Her face contorted in a spasm of pain as she gripped the bars of her prison tightly. "Man, I hate this part." Oz stood there quietly, knowing what she was going through. He watched as her face paled visibly, going from a beige-type gold to chalk white, her eyes turning blood red as her hair grew even longer and became slightly matted. He back and legs lengthened considerably, making her tall and towering, while small horns grew form her forehead and cheeks, and she raked her arms with her long talon-like nails, screeching in fury.

"This is going to be a long night," Oz muttered, sitting down on an upturned bucket and grabbing his guitar. Spike showed up a few minutes later, panting a little.

"Bugger, I'm late. Got held up back at the crypt. Couple of pals o' mine heard the flower was in town and got all excited. Forgot that Spikey here has a chip in his head that won't let him be bad. They won't be bothering no one." Oz nodded absentmindedly as he watched the Fleur-demon pace around her cell, occasionally screeching and pounding at the bars. "Sorry, pet, but you are not leaving until you are back to you normal you. So just sit there and listen to Wolf-boy here." Oz gave him a look as the demonized form of his friend howled and reached her arms through a gap between the bars, clawing and hissing viciously at the blonde vampire.

"I don't think she likes you much, Spike." The vampire just shrugged and pulled out a smoke, looking around the small space appreciatively. "Not if my life depended on it Spike," Oz told him, not even looking up from the strings of his guitar. "You are not moving in here so you can be closer to Buffy. We use this place for my transformations, and now Fleur's." Spike groaned.

"Who said I wanted to move here? I admit, it would be pretty nice, lock the food up in the cage…but to be closer to the Slayer? Got rocks in your head, mate? Why would I want to be close to her?"

"Because," a voice hissed from the dark corner where demon Fleur had retreated, "You like her. We can tell." Spike looked at her, shuddering at her glowing red eyes. "Don't deny it," the coarse voice said, darkly. "Even the boy knows. The girl shrieks inside to be let out, but I won't let her. She knows it. Her mind has fascinating stories, little drabbles from her dreams that even she doesn't remember. But I do. Nixi remembers everything. Nixi knows how much you wanted the girl to be bad, to be your new goddess, but the soul didn't fly away, not like yours did. That's why the Slayer won't like you. You don't have a soul, no smelly conscience in you, William the Bloody. But, there is something in you." She snaked out a pale arm, snatching at the air. "Little chip, in your head, Nixi sees it. Won't let the boy out to play. Has to go hit the other demons instead of the pretty little Slayer. Drove his old goddess away, too, yes he did." Spike groaned and rolled his eyes.

"Bird gave itself a name. 'Nixi,' means night or something. I never noticed how much like Dru it sounded 'til now." Oz grinned.

"Sounds a bit like Gollum from Lord of the Rings to me. Is Fleur…I mean, Nixi, always like this?" Spike shrugged.

"Don't know. I haven't seen her since she left 'bout eighty years ago. I'd heard she was in New York for a bit, then down in Texas… She always liked to travel. After she left, I hated myself…well, as much as I could, anyway. We kept moving around, Dru and I did, and I'd always find myself buying her some little trinket. I wouldn't steal it, but I'd go out at night and buy it, then put it in a box with the rest, all wrapped up for her. Still have 'em, you know. They're down in the crypt. I figured she'd come back sometime, and I'd give 'em to her. Hoped it'd make things a bit easier 'tween the two of us, you know?" Oz nodded.

"She said something like that last night. She was talking about what would happen, and I said that you must feel sort of bad, forcing her to go through with it. She laughed and said it was impossible for you to care that much. Told me stuff about how the most you would care was after you or Angel had hurt her, and you'd go out and get stuff for her, actually buy it because she refused to keep it if you stole it." Spike looked at the floor in shame.

"Yeah, I did do that. I cared about the bird, but not nearly enough. I let that poofter have his way with her when he was out of sorts, hit her around my self when he was around. But she always forgave me. And on the nights when Angel had Dru, she'd talk to me, and we'd laugh, and have a grand old time. After Angel got all souled up, I really started to miss her, because it was just the two of us. Dru would complain about how her granddaughter, her little flower, didn't like her and ran away. Kept begging me to bring her back." He blew out some smoke, then ground out the cigarette under his boot. "I never did, but I always bought her something when we moved to a new place. Got her a jewelry box in Rome, some earrings in Bath…when we came here, I got her this pretty little dress like one of the ones she would always look at in the shops. I still have it all." Neither guy said anything for awhile, each thinking through what had been said until Nixi grew restless.

"The flower likes what Nixi tells her, she does," the demon murmured. "Thinks her daddy is sorry. Nixi tells her he's just drunk, but the flower doesn't believe. Nixi needs to hurt the flower." She began to scratch at herself, leaving long gashes on her arms and face. Spike just looked at her, eyebrows raised. Suddenly, she froze, her face turned to the door. "Nixi can sense him, she can. So can the flower. Screaming little flower, yelling the words, calling granddad so many names." Oz looked confused.

"Granddad? But…" Spike shushed him.

"She means Angel, don't you Nixi? You and Fleur can sense him. He's near by." Nixi nodded and shuddered, dragging her nails down her already cut arms.

"Can Nixi kill him, please? Granddad was very naughty to Nixi, leaving her alone with the flower, not hurting them anymore." Spike just glared at her as he strode to the door and shoved it open to reveal Angel, his face set in a grim line.

"I was wondering why I sensed kin in here. Must have just been you. Where's Buffy?" Spike just rolled his eyes and pulled Angel in roughly, shutting the door behind him.

"The reason you felt like your kin were here, Peaches, was because not only am I here, but so is she." Spike pointed to the cage, where Nixi stood by the bars, her head cocked to the side, a wide smile on her face.

"Nixi knew it. Granddad came back, came back to his Nixi. Makes the little flower crazy, he does. Says he needs to die, be a big pile of dust. But Nixi says no, shuts the flower up. Nixi likes Granddad for hurting the flower. But then he left." Nixi hissed, her white fangs gleaming. "Left his Nixi all alone with no one to hurt the flower, made Nixi very sad, very lonely." Angel just stood there, his face showing his shock.

"Fleur," he whispered. Nixi shook her head.

"Fleur's not here, leave a message. Poor Granddad, got himself a dirty little soul, he did. No wonder he left when we were visiting him. Nixi can help, make the soul go away." She grinned. "Let Nixi help." Angel turned to Oz and Spike.

"She's insane." Spike nodded.

"From how she's going on, she lived to have you hurt Fleur, and when you left and it stopped, she was stuck inside, and Fleur wouldn't let her out except for the nights around the new moon. So, she went insane. Lot like Dru. They'd get along great." Angel nodded.

"Fleur still hates me apparently, at least, if Nixi can be trusted." They all looked at the deranged demon, who was currently in a corner talking to herself, running her hands up and down her cut arms.

"Thinks Nixi lies, he does, but Nixi doesn't lie to Granddad. Nixi would lie to Daddy, and the boy wolf, but not to Granddad." She shook her head and began to bang it against a wall. "Shush, little flower! Nixi's turn to talk now!" Soon, blood began to run down her face from a cut on her head that was steadily growing. Oz, grabbed the tranquilizer gun and shot the demon, hitting her in the back of the neck. She hissed and faced him, her eyes glowing in anger.

"Nixi doesn't like the little wolf-boy, wants him for dinner." She stumbled as the tranquilizer started to take affect. "Eat the wolf-boy she will." She slowed and slumped to the floor, muttering quietly before passing out. Oz looked at his watch and sighed. And hour 'til dawn. Perfect. He turned to the two vamps who had been watching and sighed.

"We're good. I was supposed to put her under now anyway, Fleur asked me to. Spike, get to your crypt, the sun will be up soon. If you see Buffy, tell her that I'll bring Fleur over to her house as soon as I can. Angel, I suggest you get out, now. Nixi may have liked seeing you, but I know Fleur will not be thrilled. She nearly tore Spike's head off for just mentioning you." They nodded and left quickly, leaving Oz alone with the unconscious vampire-demon-thing that was also his friend…deep down inside.

"Just an hour and a half more," he sighed as he carefully put a sheet over her from behind the bars. Then, he walked over the opposite wall and fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 5: An Unlikely Pairing

Ch5

Fleur woke up sometime later, and stirred restlessly under the sheet. She knew the sun had barely gotten up, but the floor wasn't very comfy and she found it impossible to sleep. She sat up carefully and winced when she felt the scrapes along her arms and face, not to mention the gash along her forehead. Willow came down a bit later, carefully balancing some coffee cups and a bag filled with a thick red liquid I none hand, and carrying a small bag in the other.

"Hey," she whispered, noticing Oz's sleeping form. "Spike came by and said you'd be up soon, so I came to help Oz. I brought you some blood," she said, passing the red bag through. "It's pig, I hope that's okay." Fleur nodded, vamped out, and began to drink, relishing in the liquid. "I also brought you both some coffee to last you until we get back to Buffy's." She remembering the bag and smiled. "And some clothes. We figured you wouldn't want to stay in those. Buffy told me to apologize, but she went through your suitcase that you brought over yesterday to pick out some stuff." Fleur smiled as she folded up the empty blood bag and set it aside, then gratefully took the bag of clothes from her. Willow turned around and busied herself about putting the coffee down and checking on Oz. Hey, she might be gay, but that doesn't mean she was rude.

"Okay, Will, you can look now." Willow turned around and smiled. Fleur looked a lot better in the small pink sundress Buffy had picked out than in the black one she had worn the night before. "Oz put the keys over there, in the far corner, so Nixi couldn't get them." Willow frowned at the name. "Nixi is the demon side of me. She gave it to herself. That's why I wear the black dress. She's very old fashioned and likes dark colors. She hates pink, and drove herself insane after I left Spike and Drusilla." Willow nodded in understanding as she unlocked the cage and let Fleur out.

"I'm going to go out and call Buffy and the others, tell them you're okay. Spike said you were, but he told us what happened and I had to make sure." Fleur frowned at the reference to the unexpected arrival of Angel, but didn't comment. Once Willow was gone, she turned to Oz and found him still asleep, his head leaning against the wall. She sighed.

"Well, here goes nothing." She slowly walked over and kneeled down next to him, then gently shook him awake. "Oz? Oz, wake up. The sun's up, and I would think that you would agree with me that this floor is not very comfy." Oz shook his head slightly, then smiled when he saw who it was that had woken him.

"Hey, you okay? Nixi took it out on you pretty hard didn't she?" he asked, touching one of her cuts. She shrugged.

"She's done worse. Tomorrow she'll be more coherent, and it will be a nightmare. I suggest ear plugs." They laughed and she helped him up, grabbed their coffees, and went out the door. Willow had just finished her phone call and smiled at them.

"Buffy said to tell you both hi. She has your room ready, Fleur, and Oz can have Joyce's bed if he wants." He shook his head.

"The couch is fine," he said, drinking his coffee as he checked the clasps on his guitar case. "Let's go. I'm about ready to fall asleep here." Fleur nodded, and they hurried off.

When they got to the house a few minutes later, they were surprised to find all of the drapes closed, and the curtains pulled tight in the living room. "I forgot! Spike got in a bit of a fight last night on the way back. Buffy turned the living room into a hospital of sorts," Willow explained.

"Why couldn't she use the basement?" Oz asked. Willow bit her lip and cast a worried glance at Fleur. The other girl frowned and her fists clenched at her sides.

"Angel's here," she muttered, her face stony. Oz nodded, and watched as Willow hurried in ahead of them.

"Hey, you won't see him. At least, not likely. And I'll be with you the whole time, okay?" She nodded hesitantly, looking him in the eyes. "I promise, I won't let him hurt you." She smiled, and he grabbed her hand, wrapping his around it comfortingly. "Ready?"

"Yeah," she whispered. "Just get me upstairs please." He nodded, and ushered her into the stairs, barely stopping to talk to Buffy or the others, letting Willow explain. He got her to "her" room and sat her on the bed, then turned to leave.

"Um, Oz?" He turned around.

"Yeah?" She bit her lip.

"Since Will—Spike is on the couch, where are you going to be?" He shrugged.

"I was actually going to go steal a few pillows and a blanket from Buffy's mom's room and take over the window seat," he told her. He walked back to her and grabbed her hands in his. "I don't break my promises. I'll be right back. I'll get those, then take the first aid kit from the bathroom and we'll get you patched up, okay?" She nodded and relaxed. He smiled and left, trying to be quick so he could get back to the girl that had so quickly become his main priority. It only took a little while, and then he was back.

"Here we go," he said, sitting down next to her with the first aid kit. He bandaged up the worst of the cuts on her arms first, then moved on to her forehead. "Hold still, this might sting," he muttered as he carefully cleaned the gash on her forehead. He then put some ointment on it and wrapped it up. So what if she healed fast. Didn't mean it couldn't get infected. "Just let me get these last few," he said as he began to clean the ones on her cheeks. When he had gotten to the last one, he whistled softly.

"You have a splinter in there somehow, and it needs to come out." She frowned and bit her lip, but nodded for him to continue. "I'll be gentle," he said as he carefully took out the large splinter. "There." She raised her hand to her cheek and gently touched it, wincing at the jolt of pain from even the lightest touch. Oz noticed the wince and covered her hand in his, squeezing gently as he pulled her hand away from the wound. He quickly but gently put a clean band aid on it, never letting go of her hand while he did so.

"There, finished." He smiled, looking her over. "Not too bad, if I do say so myself. You should be as good as new in a few days, maybe less with your advanced healing." Fleur nodded and laid down slowly, smiling when her head reached the soft pillows. She sighed in ecstasy and looked at Oz imploringly.

"Stay with me?" she asked softly, looking into his eyes.

"Always," he whispered as he slowly leaned down and their lips met in a soft yet passionate kiss. When they finally pulled apart, they smiled at each other, and Oz laid down next to her, letting her snuggle into his body and draping one arm over her waist as they fell asleep together, safe and content.


End file.
